White Lilies

White Water Lilies

Most water lilies in temperate areas of the world have white flowers. The common pond lily in the Northeast, Nymphaea odorata, most often has white flowers, though pink flowers are found in some populations. In Europe, the common water lily is N. alba - again with white flowers. There are a couple of dwarf species growing in far northern areas, N. leibergii and N. tetragona - again with white flowers. So the white water lilies that are common in the nursery trade could be derived from a number of species and their crosses. Varieties with smaller flowers probably are mostly derived from N. alba, N. leibergii or N. tetragona, while vigorous plants with larger flowers are more likely to be derived from N. odorata.

I don't tend to take as many photos of white water lilies as other colors. Why? Well, they don't change much in color depending on the age of the flower or whether the sun is out or behind clouds. So there's not much need. Even so, it's fun taking photos of lilies to see if you can capture that perfect image. So I'll probably add to each lily's slideshow over time.

'Gonnere'

'Hermine'

'Siam Jasmine'

'Snowflake'

'Virginalis'

'Walter Pagels'

'White 1000 Petals'

'White Sensation'

'Gonnere'

A Marliac introduction from 1914. The double flower form is unique and while a few varieties, like 'Perry's Double White' are similar, none can rival it - flowers appear as snowballs floating on the water - indeed another common name, that the variety occasionally is listed under, is 'Snowball.' Unfortunately 'Gonnere' is a bit of a shy bloomer - there's a reason I've only posted two pictures here - we usually only see a handful of flowers over the course of a season in our propagating tub, and rarely more than one open at a time. If we grew this in an earthen-bottom pond, where it had room to spread into a larger clump we'd probably see it flower a little more prolifically. Despite its shyness, its exquisite flower form makes it worthy of any water lily collection. According to Perry Slocum, 'Gonnere' has N. odorata ssp. tuberosa parentage - the other parent is unknown.

'Hermine'

Another Marliac introduction, this time from 1910. This is a small to medium size lily with a medium size flower. It has far fewer petals than 'Gonnere', but produces flowers much more prolifically and is still popular more than a century after its introduction.

'Siam Jasmine'

In 2020 I thought I needed to add some more white varieties to the collection. With no space to add though how to do so? Get another variety that can be kept in a tub I thought. And 'Siam Jasmine' became the obvious choice. Well, despite the smaller flower, this variety really isn't a dwarf variety that can be easily accommodated in a tub. And right now it's in a small ceramic water pot that we're trying to showcase for sale. The leaves and plant are medium sized - it's going to need a big ceramic water pot in the long run.

The flowers have perfect cup-shaped form - I was going to say "perfect coloring" as well, but hey, it's a white water lily - it's hard to be imperfect.

'Snowflake'

In 2020 in addition to 'Siam Jasmine' I added another white lily to the collection, 'Snowflake'. Again, how to fit it into the limited space/number of our stock tubs. Solution? Cheat. I added a few more stock tubs. So now we're over 50, but only a little bit over!

'Snowflake' is a worthy addition. This Tony Moore introduction is quite unique looking. It's sort of 'White 1000 Petals' but without quite so many petals. And so it looks less "monstrous" and more like a normal water lily. The petals are narrower than those of 'White 100o Petals' and it has a much looser flower form. Since the flower rises above the surface of the water a few inches, many petals hang down, which also contributes to its unique look.

'Virginalis'

Cup-like flowers with particularly wide petals are this variety's claim to fame. Another 1910 introduction from Marliac that remains popular today for it's dependable performance and free-flowering nature.

'Walter Pagels'

There are a number of dwarf to small white water lilies suitable for tub culture - species N. leibergii or N. tetragona (both hard to find - occasionally N. tetragona is available, often under the name 'Pygmy Alba' - moreover, they seem a bit susceptible to crown rot, and, hailing from northern climes, probably don't like the hot temperatures associated with tub culture) - I think 'Walter Pagels' is the best. There are a couple varieties I've never grown, such as 'Snow Queen' and the new 'Siam Jasmine' which look promising. I've also long wanted to trial 'Laydekeri Alba' but have never found a plant available for purchase. Truth be told, the color of 'Walter Pagels' is a little more complex than "white". It was created by Kirk Strawn and, like a number of his hybrids, changes color with the seasons. At the height of summer the base color becomes ivory and the flower takes on a sheen of pink to salmon color.

'White 1000 Petals'

Whenever I see one of these polypetalous water lilies I think of a word biologists used to use a lot more often - "monstrosity." For example, Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species (1859): "We have also what are called monstrosities; but they graduate into varieties. By a monstrosity I presume is meant some considerable deviation of structure, generally injurious to or not useful to the species." These flowers certainly are not as effective as a normal water lily flower at attracting bees in order to facilitate pollination and seed production - of course the main function of flowers - so they do indeed appear to be "not useful." On the other hand, since we have taken over the propagation of these varieties through division they don't need to produce seeds to be evolutionarily successful.

Anyway, if big, fluffy, peony-like flowers are your thing, here's your water lily (along with 'Gloire-du-Temple-sur-Lot' and 'Lily Pons'). And even if bees can't find the pollen hidden in this flower apparently humans can: there are modern water lily breeders creating polypetalous varieties in a wider variety of colors - coming to a nursery near you in the near future.

'White Sensation'

White water lilies just don't seem to get as much attention as other colors. When I started this entry almost nothing popped into my head - I didn't have a strong impression or feeling about this lily compared to other whites. I looked at the pictures and thought to myself - that's a nice-looking, large, quite double flower - why hasn't it made much of an impression on me? I think, at the moment, this is probably about as good as it gets for a classic white water lily. Sure there are a bunch of Marliac hybrids that I've never had in my collection, like 'Albatros' and 'Colossea,' but none appear that they will have the flower size and petal count of this Perry Slocum creation.